How many countries are there in the world? The most widely accepted answer is 195: the 193 member states of the United Nations, plus 2 observer states — the Holy See (Vatican City) and the State of Palestine. Below is the complete list, grouped by continent. Transcontinental countries (such as Russia and Turkey) are listed under the continent they are most commonly associated with.
195Countries
193UN Members
2Observer States
6Continents
Africa — 54 countries
AlgeriaAngolaBeninBotswanaBurkina FasoBurundiCabo VerdeCameroonCentral African RepublicChadComorosRepublic of the CongoDR CongoCôte d'IvoireDjiboutiEgyptEquatorial GuineaEritreaEswatiniEthiopiaGabonGambiaGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauKenyaLesothoLiberiaLibyaMadagascarMalawiMaliMauritaniaMauritiusMoroccoMozambiqueNamibiaNigerNigeriaRwandaSão Tomé and PríncipeSenegalSeychellesSierra LeoneSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth SudanSudanTanzaniaTogoTunisiaUgandaZambiaZimbabwe
Asia — 48 countries
AfghanistanArmeniaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBhutanBruneiCambodiaChinaCyprusGeorgiaIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIsraelJapanJordanKazakhstanKuwaitKyrgyzstanLaosLebanonMalaysiaMaldivesMongoliaMyanmarNepalNorth KoreaOmanPakistanPalestinePhilippinesQatarSaudi ArabiaSingaporeSouth KoreaSri LankaSyriaTajikistanThailandTimor-LesteTurkeyTurkmenistanUnited Arab EmiratesUzbekistanVietnamYemen
Europe — 44 countries
AlbaniaAndorraAustriaBelarusBelgiumBosnia and HerzegovinaBulgariaCroatiaCzechiaDenmarkEstoniaFinlandFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryIcelandIrelandItalyLatviaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMaltaMoldovaMonacoMontenegroNetherlandsNorth MacedoniaNorwayPolandPortugalRomaniaRussiaSan MarinoSerbiaSlovakiaSloveniaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandUkraineUnited KingdomVatican City
North America — 23 countries
Antigua and BarbudaBahamasBarbadosBelizeCanadaCosta RicaCubaDominicaDominican RepublicEl SalvadorGrenadaGuatemalaHaitiHondurasJamaicaMexicoNicaraguaPanamaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesTrinidad and TobagoUnited States
South America — 12 countries
ArgentinaBoliviaBrazilChileColombiaEcuadorGuyanaParaguayPeruSurinameUruguayVenezuela
Oceania — 14 countries
AustraliaFijiKiribatiMarshall IslandsMicronesiaNauruNew ZealandPalauPapua New GuineaSamoaSolomon IslandsTongaTuvaluVanuatu
Why 195 and not more? Places like Taiwan, Kosovo, and Western Sahara are recognised by some countries but are not full UN member states, so they are usually excluded from the standard count of 195. Different organisations draw the line differently, which is why you will sometimes see figures like 196 or 197.
Play the Countries Griddle
Think you know your world geography? In the Countries griddle, several country names are hidden inside a grid of letters — and every letter belongs to exactly one country, used once. No letters left over, no letters reused, and exactly one correct solution. It is a fun way to test how many countries you can actually spell from memory.
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